Kaiser Permanente registered nurses to take to picket line Dec. 19 in Vacaville, Vallejo and Bay Area

Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center's registered nurses will join those of 20 other Kaiser facilities on Dec. 19 to protest short staffing and other issues, union officials announced.

From 2 to 6 p.m. that day, the nurses will picket 21 Kaiser hospitals -- including in Vallejo and Vacaville -- over what they say is persistently inadequate nurse staffing in emergency care and other hospital areas. They're also protesting patients being turned away from needed care, California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United officials said.

Oddly, just last week, the Vallejo and Vacaville Kaiser Permanente medical centers were named among the 67 top U.S. urban hospitals by an industry quality measurement group. The group recognizes medical centers for outstanding success in areas like appropriate physician and nursing staffing.

"Kaiser Permanente is vigilant about patient safety, and we are recognized nationally and internationally for consistently providing high-quality health care to our members and the communities we serve," Westfall said. "Our nurse staffing levels comply with, and sometimes exceed, state-mandated staffing requirements at our hospitals.

"For example, in addition to meeting the ratios, we increase staffing as necessary for patients based on the complexity of their medical condition and acuity."

More people seek care at outpatient clinics, online and over the phone, Westfall said.

"We expect this trend to continue as we provide high-quality care and service to our members where and when they want it," she said. "This is good news for our patients. At the same time, it means we need to adjust nurse staffing to make sure they are where our members and patients want and need them to be."

Kaiser officials say they're trying to work with nurses to address staffing issues in a changing environment.

The association, which represents 17,000 Kaiser RNs, says short staffing is a chronic problem in Kaiser emergency rooms, labor and delivery, and elsewhere.

Members also charge that, "Kaiser is too often sending patients home from the hospital prematurely and expecting family members to care for patients who should still be in the hospital," according to the announcement.

"We simply need to work together to realign staffing, so our nurses are where our patients need them, ... and create training opportunities for KP (Kaiser Permanente) nurses in specialties where we have needs, such as labor and delivery, critical care, and the operating room," Westfall said.